1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flipped ball game apparatus having a play field into which balls are flipped to play a game.
2. Description of the Background Art
A game machine called a pinball game machine has conventionally being proposed. This pinball game machine has a play field in which balls move down and a player plays a game by using the rolling balls. When the balls rolling down in the play field collide with certain obstacles, the balls are flipped and captured at indefinite probabilities while tracing their irregularly changing trajectories, and consequently a predetermined reward is provided to the player.
A conventional pinball game of particular interest to the present invention is a Japanese pinball game of the type called PACHINKO which has been popular in Japan.
Although the present invention is not limited to such a PACHINKO game machine, it is most widely applicable to the PACHINKO game machine.
A large number of such PACHINKO game machine are installed in a game house, and the player goes to the game house and plays a game by using at least one of the PACHINKO game machine. In the game house, the player first buys a plurality of small balls (PACHINKO balls) and insert them into the PACHINKO game machine for playing a game. The inserted balls are flipped one by one into a play field in the machine by the player's manual operation. A number of protruding obstructive pins are standing in the play field. The flipped balls fall down tracing their irregularly changing trajectories while colliding with the obstructive pins. In the play field are further provided winning holes which are one example of a winning zone and into which the rolling balls fall at indefinite probabilities. If any one of the balls falls into any one of the winning holes, then a predetermined prize ball is paid out to the player. The player flips the prize ball again into the play field, so that he or she can play the game again. The player can also preserve a large number of such prize balls and exchange them for some prizes prepared in the game house. The player can acquire prizes of his or her selection if winning the game in the PACHINKO game machine.
FIGS. 18-20 illustrate a PACHINKO game machine which is one example of a conventional flipped ball game apparatus. FIG. 18 is an overall front view of the conventional PACHINKO game machine. FIG. 19 is an overall rear view showing the internal structure of part of the conventional PACHINKO game machine. FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing a ball flipper of the conventional PACHINKO game machine. The conventional PACHINKO game machine is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 1-254183.
Referring to FIG. 18, a door supporting frame 404 is mounted on a front frame 403 serving as a member consisting a PACHINKO pinball game machine 401. A glass door frame 495 incorporating a glass plate is attached rotatably on door supporting frame 404. This glass door frame 495 opens/closes a play field 400 formed on the front face of a play board 406. This play field is a field in which flipped PACHINKO balls fall down leaving certain trajectories. A play value which is predetermined at a certain probability in accordance with the trajectories of the balls in the play field is provided to a player.
A front plate 421 is provided beneath glass door frame 495. A flipped-ball supplying tray 415 is provided on the front face of front plate 421. This supply tray 415 has such a form that PACHINKO balls can temporarily be stored therein.
In a game play, the player first deposits coins into a PACHINKO ball lending machine installed in a predetermined place in a game house and borrows PACHINKO balls by conducting a predetermined operation for the machine. Then, the player deposits the lent PACHINKO balls into supply tray 415. The player then holds and turns by his/her right hand a flipping operation handle 420 provided in a lower part of PACHINKO ball game machine 301. With the turning operation of handle 420, the PACHINKO balls stored in supply tray 415 are flipped into play field 400 one by one by action of a ball shooting apparatus 405 (see FIG. 19).
A variable display apparatus 407 is mounted in a central position of play field 400, and a variable winning ball apparatus 429 is disposed beneath variable display apparatus 407. Variable display apparatus 407 can variably display plural types of identification information formed in numerals, designs, symbols and so on. Variable winning ball apparatus 429 is set such that when PACHINKO balls fall into variable winning ball apparatus 429, a predetermined play value is supplied to the player. Variable winning ball apparatus 429 can alternate between a first state which is advantageous for the player and a second state which is disadvantageous for the player. If any of the PACHINKO balls flipped into play field 400 by operation of shooting operation handle 420 falls into any of starting winning holes 431a, 431b, and 431c being one example of a starting passage hole, then variable display apparatus 407 starts variation of the display. After a certain time period has elapsed, the varying display of variable display apparatus 407 is stopped. A winning hole is a ball receiving port which allows the ball flipped into the play field to fall and enter into. The winning hole is set such that when the balls are received, a predetermined play value is supplied to the player and that the received balls may be guided to a rear face of play board 406. A passage hole is a hole which allows the balls flipped into the play field to fall and enter into. The passage hole is set such that a predetermined play value can be supplied to the player by entrance of the balls into the passage hole. The balls that have entered into the passage hole are divided into two types: the one is guided to the rear face of play board 406, and the other passes through the hole and then is discharged again into play field 400. In other words, the "passage" is a broad concept including the concept of "winning". The starting winning hole is one type of winning holes, which is set to start the operation of variable display apparatus 407 (or variable winning ball apparatus 429 in some cases) as well as supply a predetermined play value to the player when the PACHINKO ball flipped into the play field falls into the starting winning hole.
If the result of the display provided when variable display apparatus 407 stops provides a predetermined specific combination of identification information (e.g., 777), an opening/closing plate 430 of variable winning ball apparatus 429 is opened, so that a state where a play value can be supplied to the player, i.e., a big hit state is generated. Normal winning holes 432 and 433 are further provided in play field 400. When PACHINKO balls fall into normal winning hole 432, 433 or variable winning ball apparatus 429, a predetermined number of prize balls are paid out through a prize ball outlet 416 into supply tray 415, so that a play value is supplied to the player. The prize ball is a PACHINKO ball serving as the play value which is supplied to the player due such as to the winning of a flipped ball. If supply tray 415 is filled with prize balls and can no longer store any balls therein, surplus prize balls are paid out through a surplus prize ball outlet 423 into a surplus prize ball receiving tray 422. A lost ball port 433 serves to collect lost balls, which are the PACHINKO balls flipped into play field 400 and having fallen down without falling into any winning holes or winning ball apparatuses. A mounting member 419 serves to mount a ball shooting apparatus 405 onto front frame 3.
Referring to FIG. 19, ball shooting apparatus 405 is provided at the lower part of PACHINKO ball game machine 401. This ball shooting apparatus 405 is comprised of a ball shooting motor 451 being one example of an electric drive source, a drive vane 452 rotated by ball shooting motor 451, a lever 453 abutting against drive vane 452, a board flipping hammer unified with lever 543 and swung intermittently with rotation of driven vane 452, and a ganged ascending/descending apparatus 455 ascending/descending in gang with the intermittent swinging of ball flipping hammer 454. With ganged ascending/descending apparatus 455 ascending/descending, a ball supplying mechanism not shown is operated, so that the PACHINKO balls in supply tray 415 are supplied one by one to a ball shooting position. With drive vane 452 being rotated by a driving force of motor 451, lever 453 is pushed up, so that hammer 454 unified with lever 452 turns in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 19. Hammer 454 is biased in a clockwise direction in FIG. 19 by a spring. As soon as the abutment between drive vane 452 and lever 453 is released, lever 453 and hammer 454 turn in the clockwise direction in FIG. 19. Then, the PACHINKO balls provided at the above-described ball shooting position are flipped by a tip end of hammer 454 and shot into play field 400 after having passed between an inner rail 453a and an outer rail 453b (see FIG. 18).
The PACHINKO ball that have been shot by ball shooting apparatus 405 and then fallen into winning hole 432 are guided onto a winning ball collecting gutter 447 and then introduced into a winning ball processor 448. Winning ball processor 448 causes a prize ball dispenser 446 to operate for each winning ball, to pay out a predetermined number (e.g., 15) of prize balls. The winning balls that have passed through winning ball processor 448 are discharged outside the machine through a winning ball discharging gutter 449. The prize balls in a prize ball storing tank 443 are supplied to prize ball dispenser 446. More specifically, the prize balls in prize ball storing tank 443 are arrayed in two rows by a ball arrangement gutter 444, and then supplied into prize ball dispenser 446 through a curving gutter 445.
In the figure, a winning ball collecting cover 438 serves to guide the PACHINKO balls that have fallen into winning hole 432 onto winning ball collecting gutter 447, and also guide the PACHINKO balls that have fallen into starting winning hole 431a onto winning ball collecting gutter 447 after these winning balls passed through a starting winning ball detect switch 441a. The PACHINKO balls that have fallen into starting winning holes 431b and 431c are also detected by starting winning ball detect switches 441b and 441c and then guided onto winning ball collecting gutter 447. In the figure, a main body 440 of the variable display apparatus, a lost-ball port 434 and a solenoid 442 being one example of the electric drive source for opening/closing an opening/closing plate 430 (see FIG. 19) of variable winning ball apparatus 429 are provided. A relay base plate 439 is also provided. A control base plate box 450 for game control serves to accommodate a game control base plate which controls the opening/closing of variable winning ball apparatus 429 and the display of variable display apparatus 407.
The ball shooting apparatus of the PACHINKO ball game machine shown in FIG. 20 is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 59-192381.
A shaft 413 penetrates a mount member 419. Shaft 413 and shooting operation handle 420 are engaged with each other at the front surface of mount member 419, while a fan shaped gear 414A is attached to shaft 413 at the rear face of mount member 419.
A flipping force adjusting lever 412 is mounted on shooting operation handle 420. Flipping force adjusting lever 412 has a protrusion 412a on which the player's finger for turning lever 412 is hang. When the player holds this operation handle 420 by hand and hangs his or her finger on protrusion 412a of adjusting lever 412 to turn flipping force adjusting lever 412, shaft 413 is rotated, so that fan-shaped gear 414a is also rotated in the same direction. The motion of fan-shaped gear 414A is conveyed to a gear 414B and further to a gear 414C. This causes expansion of a wire 415 with its one end fixed onto gear 414C, so that a force is applied to hammer 454 which is attached to the other end of wire 415 by means of a spring 416. This enables adjustment of the PACHINKO ball flipping force of hammer 454.
With fan-shaped gear 414A rotating as described above, an actuator 422 abutting against one end of gear 414A is driven, so that a microswitch 421 is turned on. With switch 421 turned on, motor 451 is activated, so that hammer 454 carries out a ball flipping operation.
As has been mentioned above, the conventional flipped ball game machine is structured such that balls are flipped into play field 400 by the player's manipulation of shooting operation handle 420, and a play value is supplied to the player dependently on the trajectories of the falling flipped balls. Further, the conventional flipped ball game machine is structured such that the flipping force of the balls flipped into play field 400 can be adjusted by the player's manipulation of shooting operation handle 420.
In the conventional flipped ball game machine represented by such a PACHINKO ball game machine, the player can enjoy the falling state of the balls flipped into play field 400; however, since the scores of evaluation of the game are dependent upon the player's skill of operating flipping balls, the player cannot simply enjoy chances as he or she does in slot machines, roulettes and the like.
In order to allow the player to simply enjoy chances, a flipped ball game apparatus is disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,131,655. Such a flipped ball game apparatus includes a ball shooting mechanism for flipping balls into the play field, and a starting condition determining means for determining whether or not game starting conditions are satisfied under such a necessary condition that a valuable object (e.g., a coin) capable of being used in a game play and having a predetermined value is deposited, wherein the ball shooting mechanism is controlled and driven such that the balls are automatically flipped in response to a determination output from the starting condition determining means. This conventional flipped ball game machine further includes a variable display apparatus, wherein if the balls flipped into the play field enter predetermined winning zones (starting winning zones), then the varying display of the variable display apparatus is controlled to draw and display the result of the display. If the display result is provided in a predetermined specific displaying manner (e.g., 777), a large number of coins or the like are paid out so that the player can obtain a large value.
In the conventional flipped ball game machine having the above-described structure, even though the variable display apparatus is installed, the varying display of the variable display apparatus does not operate when the balls flipped into the play field do not enter the starting winning zones, such that the apparatus is not controlled to draw and display the display result. In some cases, all balls are flipped into the play field until the game is over without any control for drawing and displaying the display result of the variable display apparatus being ever carried out, which is unsatisfactory to the player.